This blog is about my life as a mom, raising a son with a mood disorder. This is a tough journey and I hope that my words may allow others living with this illness see that they’re not alone. I’m also using this blog as a tool to process my own feelings and let go of the pain that I carry inside. If you’re new to this blog, check out my list of “Important Posts” in the right column and feel free to share your story with me. This blog shouldn’t be used for medical advice.

Monday, March 25, 2013

My Turn to See a Neurologist

I mentioned in last Friday’s post that my youngest son is seeing a Neuropsychologist today, but what I didn’t share was that I myself saw a Neurologist last week for the first time.

I have this strange thing happening to me lately and it’s gotten progressively worse. I’m having body jerks that send a jolt through my body causing my muscles to contract violently, sometimes just once or other times up to 20 times an hour. I decided long ago that they were nothing to be concerned about when my doctor told me they were normal for some people when they felt tired and drifting off to sleep. But over the years, the body jerks have become more pronounced. In just the last few months they have taken a life of their own and now happen when I’m walking around doing things at all hours of the day. Yes I’m tired all the time, but the body jerks are so strong that they can make me jump off the floor.

Over time I concluded my body was in protest after being rundown after years of stress. But a few weeks ago, the body jerks became relentless and by the end of the evening they were affecting my speech—enough to scare the crap out of me. So, I contacted my new doctor who upon hearing my symptoms immediately sent me to a Neurologist, explaining, “No, these are not normal!”

Last week I saw the Neurologist who agreed this wasn’t normal behavior and called these body jerks possible Myoclonic seizures. She said they sounded like a form of Myoclonic epilepsy and ordered an EEG to screen for it. She also ordered a ton of blood work and an MRI, just to rule out the rare possibility of a tumor. Something neither of us are worried about.

As she was ordering all these tests I told her how I read about these seizures and even though they can be caused by epilepsy and some horrible diseases, they can also be caused by stress. A psychological response to stress. I told her that if she knew half of what we’d been through in the last five years she’d see how this would be a perfect explanation for these seizures. My doctor grinned and said, “Yes, that’s a possibility, but I’m not there yet, we have a lot to rule out before we settle on stress as the root of this.”

In the meantime, my boys chuckle whenever my body jolts and say, “Look, Mom is tired again!” It’s turned into somewhat of a joke, but lately, I’m not laughing anymore.

Wouldn’t it be ironic if I was diagnosed with epilepsy and had to go on an anti-convulsant drug like my son? Life can be funny like that sometimes...

5 comments:

Hugs and healing to you. Take care of yourself. Long term stress can definately cause illness. I have RA and and 3 other autoimmune diseases, I think the stress of having a child who is bipolar has definately affected my health.

Big ((hugs)) for you Mama Bear! Stress can do some weird things. But I do think getting the tests first are a good idea. Most likely it is some combo of the stress exacerbating what was initially causing the twitches that were there to begin with? (As I was reading, I was also thinking about Tourettes which anecdotally seems tied to some of these other syndromes. Though I'm not sure that one can suddenly develop Tourettes...?) Hang in there and see if you can get some down time.

Funny, but my GP wants me to see a neurologist. Well, my ADHD + LDs + sensory issues + hearing loss may be caused by brain damage. We are also on genetic research and geneticist will need these infos. However, finding a caring neurologist is much easier said than done.

For the moment, I don't have any kind of strange movements. Thanks God !

About Tourettes, normally, you cannot have it later in life. But who know what science may discover...

Hope you get some answers soon, Mama Bear, and start feeling better. And you are not going to believe this, but Bug's psychiatrist developed some kind of seizure disorder and DID have to go on an anti convulsant drug just as she was starting one. We all had a little chuckle about that. He was finally getting a taste of his own medicine.:)

About Me

I’m a 45 year old Mama Bear married to my sweetheart for 25 years. We have 3 wonderful boys ages 16, 14 and 12. My oldest started showing signs of a mood disorder around 8 years ago. He is diagnosed with Bipolar NOS and recently Autism (Aspergers) and is taking Lithium, Wellbutrin and Melatonin and is in therapy with our HMO. Our youngest was diagnosed with Autism (Aspergers), ADHD and may also have a mood disorder. He is currently taking Prozac to help with anxiety and depression and has had great success with ABA therapy.